Dream Eater
by mindmelda
Summary: Strange dreams haunt Miroku. Can his friends discover the cause? MirokuSango, InuyashaKagome pairings.
1. Kaazana

Dream Eater  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Kazaana  
  
(AN: I don't own any of the characters in Inuyasha. I do write little non- profit stories about them. That's all, I promise. Okay, I lied. Sometimes, we play Twister. Naraku always wins, but he cheats. It's the tentacles. I told Inuyasha we shouldn't have invited him. But no, he keeps thinking he can beat him. Stupid dogboy! No biscuits for you tonight! )  
  
The force of the air rip was tearing his body apart, as he always knew it would one day. It engulfed everyone and everything around him. The roaring was echoing in his ears and he felt as though it was coming through his skull.  
  
"Get away!" he screamed, but it was too late. The last thing he saw was Sango's face distorted in agony as she was drawn inexorably to her death.  
  
He awoke trembling and gasping, still held by the images of the dream. For a dream it was, more accurately, a nightmare.  
  
"Sango," he whispered.  
  
Keilala's sensitive hearing awoke her and she sniffed the air. The smell of fear permeated the room by Miroku. She went quietly over on small feet and mewed questioningly at him.  
  
The others were asleep, and Inuyasha was up above them in a tree. Miroku tried to calm himself by controlling his breathing. Soon the trembling stopped.  
  
"What do you sense, Keilala?" whispered Miroku.  
  
Keilala mewed again and jumped into his lap, rubbing her head against his rough outer robes.  
  
"Just my own fears, ne?" he said under his breath. But, he knew there would be no further sleep for him this night.  
  
Morning came in a few hours, and Miroku watched Kagome stir in her sleeping bag, and Sango soon afterwards in her bed roll of blankets.  
  
Inuyasha leapt quietly down from the tree where he'd slept and came to stand in front of the monk.  
  
"Kinda restless last night, weren't you?" he asked roughly, his arms folded inside the sleeves of his haori.  
  
"I did not sleep well," admitted Miroku.  
  
"The stink of fear is still on you, houshi," said Inuyasha.  
  
"It was just a nightmare," insisted Miroku.  
  
"Must have been some nightmare," said Inuyasha.  
  
"Are you all right, houshi-sama?" asked Sango, as she sat up in her bedroll, listening to their conversation.  
  
"I'm fine," he lied, but somehow relieved to hear her voice. The nightmare had been too real.  
  
"Sango?" he asked, "Did you sleep well?"  
  
"Yes, Miroku," she said. "I'm sorry you did not." She bestowed a sympathetic look upon him that made him feel slightly better.  
  
"After we eat something," said Kagome "We need to be on our way. I know I sensed a jewel shard yesterday, but then it was gone. I don't get it."  
  
"Perhaps you were mistaken, Kagome," said Miroku gently. He had a slight headache from lack of sleep. He leaned over and rubbed his temples.  
  
"You don't feel well," stated Sango, frowning at him slightly. "Don't lie."  
  
"It's nothing," he said. "Just a restless night."  
  
"You look pale," she said, coming over and kneeling by him.  
  
"Don't concern yourself with this," said Miroku, speaking more sharply than he intended to.  
  
Sango sat back, and then averted her eyes. "If you wish," she said simply and stood up to leave.  
  
He almost wished she had slapped him.  
  
Kagome looked at Miroku with her brows raised, but said nothing.  
  
"No need to bite her head off," said Inuyasha, glad for once that he wasn't being the rude one.  
  
"I should apologize," said Miroku, looking at the doorway where Sango had left.  
  
"You'd better!" exclaimed Kagome, tossing her head back in an indignant gesture.  
  
Sango walked over a small knoll, where the others couldn't see her. She sank to the grass with a sigh, and absently stroked Keilala's fur to ease her hurt feelings.  
  
"That was inexcusable," said a mellow voice behind her. "And I'm so sorry."  
  
"It was understandable," replied Sango carefully. "Everyone gets irritable."  
  
"Still, you did nothing to deserve my being irritable with you," Miroku said gently, sitting down beside her.  
  
"It's best forgotten," said Sango in what she hoped was a neutral tone.  
  
"Allow me to make amends," he said, "and then I shall be able to forget."  
  
She nodded. "If it will make you feel better, you can grant me a request."  
  
"It will." He smiled at her. Sango noticed that he still had dark circles of fatigue under his usually brilliant violet-tinged dark eyes.  
  
"My request is that you sleep well tonight," she said softly.  
  
He bowed his head, "I do not know if I can grant that request, but I shall try."  
  
"How long have you had these nightmares, houshi-sama?" asked Sango.  
  
He exhaled, finally raising his eyes. "A fortnight now."  
  
"That long?" Sango exclaimed in surprise. In an impulsive gesture of sympathy, her hand reached out to cover his.  
  
"I had no idea," she said.  
  
"It is..disturbing," he admitted. "I know that everyone has the occasional nightmare, but I have had the same one every night for two weeks now."  
  
Sango shook her head slightly. "That is not usual. Can you tell me what your dream is about?"  
  
He looked away. "I'd rather not," he said. "The dream is of a somewhat...personal nature."  
  
"Am I in your dream?" asked Sango, curious.  
  
"Yes," he whispered.  
  
He felt a sharp sting on his face. He looked up, shocked.  
  
"I'd prefer NOT to be the subject of your perverted dreams!" said Sango, outraged.  
  
"But, but!" he spluttered, holding his face. "Sango, you misunderstand, it wasn't THAT kind of dream!"  
  
"Oh," she said, now embarrassed. "I'm sorry I slapped you then."  
  
"Not that you couldn't be," he said, reconsidering.  
  
She raised her hand to deliver another smack, when she realized he was joking and instead gave him a disgusted look, rose and walked away.  
  
"At least I'm awake now," Miroku sighed and stood up, following her back to their camp.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
They spent an exhausting day searching for the faint glimmer of pulsing power that Kagome felt coming from a nearby jewel shard.  
  
"I just can't seem to focus on it," she said, frustrated. She sat down and raked fingers through her sweaty hair.  
  
"Could there be something obscuring its power emanations?" wondered Miroku out loud.  
  
He knelt and leaned on his staff. "If you don't mind, I'd like to rest a bit. It's late in the day and we'll need to make camp soon anyway."  
  
"Of course, Miroku," said Kagome wearily. "I'm not getting anywhere anyway." She sighed and flopped down on the grass.  
  
Inuyasha snorted, "Well, if you need to rest, I'll call it a day." He gave them a disgusted look that obviously meant, "Feh, weak humans!" and began to search around for a tall tree from which to take watch.  
  
"Anyone hungry?" asked Kagome, reaching into her backpack and withdrawing some fruit.  
  
Sango thanked her, holding out her hand. Kagome looked around and noticed that Miroku was already asleep, slumped against the base of a nearby tree.  
  
Sango noticed the direction of her glance. "He's exhausted from lack of sleep," she said, her fine brows drawn down in to a look of concern.  
  
"He can't keep this up much longer," Kagome agreed.  
  
"It's not normal," mused Sango. "People don't have the same nightmare every night for a fortnight."  
  
"No," said Kagome. "I've never heard of that happening."  
  
"Could it be some sort of a curse?" Inuyasha's voice made them startle a little as it came from behind them.  
  
Sango raised her brows. "I hadn't thought of that," she admitted.  
  
"I've felt something odd for a few weeks, ever since I thought I detected the jewel shard we're hunting for, but can't quite name it," said Kagome. "I wonder if it's connected to the strange dreams Miroku is having?"  
  
Inuyasha flicked an ear, squatting down and tilting his head towards Kagome, a thoughtful look on his face. Golden eyes squinted at her.  
  
"I keep getting that creepy feeling you get on the back of your neck when someone is watching you, but I can't pin it down, can't smell it, and I can't hear anything," he finally said.  
  
"I just assumed I was imagining things after a while," he said, shaking his head so that the silky silver strands of hair settled over his upright ears.  
  
"One of us needs to stand watch over Miroku tonight and see if they can detect anything," concluded Kagome.  
  
"We'll take turns so that none of us gets too tired," said Inuyasha.  
  
"I'll take the first watch," he added. "Then you Sango, then Kagome."  
  
The women nodded.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sango felt a large warm hand on her shoulder and started awake.  
  
"It's me, Sango," said Inuyasha. His amber eyes glowed in the dark like lamps.  
  
She shook off sleep, raising quickly and going to sit next to the sleeping young man. He seemed peaceful and relaxed for now, his head cradled on one arm.  
  
"So, you detected nothing?" asked Sango of Inuyasha, who shook his head.  
  
"Not a thing," said Inuyasha. "No nightmares, either. He's been sleeping like a baby."  
  
"I'll call out if I hear or see anything," said Sango.  
  
She leant against the base of the tree and watched the gentle rise and fall of the monk's breathing as he slept.  
  
It soon became difficult to fight sleep. She rose and walked a short distance away, swinging her arms and rubbing them to stimulate wakefulness.  
  
Sango heard an indistinct sound behind her and whirled around.  
  
Miroku's head tossed to one side and his eyes, only a few seconds before peacefully closed, now were squinted in anguish.  
  
"No!" he murmured hoarsely, tossing his head back and forth.  
  
Sango went over to him quickly, kneeling alongside of him on the ground.  
  
"Miroku!" she said, taking him by the shoulders and shaking him.  
  
"Sango!" he said, his gloved hand twitching as he began to thrash his legs.  
  
"I'm here!" she said, trying again to shake him awake. But, whatever the dream, its grip upon him was too powerful.  
  
A loud moan was wrenched from his lips and two small tears of pain slid down his face from under closed eyes.  
  
The eyes snapped open and looked at her unknowingly.  
  
"You were dreaming again," said Sango, still holding his upper arms.  
  
"No more," he mumbled, dropping his head against the tree.  
  
Sango braced herself a moment, and then realized he had fainted. 


	2. Promise

Dream Eater  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Promise  
  
"Inuyasha!" cried Sango as Miroku slumped to the ground, her arms still holding him.  
  
Inuyasha was beside her in an instant. "What did you see?" he asked urgently.  
  
"Nothing!" replied Sango. "There was nothing. One minute, he was sleeping peacefully and the next, moaning in pain, and then he became unconscious."  
  
Sango felt the pulse at his neck. It was beating rapidly and shallowly.  
  
"He seems uninjured, in body, at least." Sango could see no injuries, no rents in his robes, no blood.  
  
"I have a feeling that whatever this is, it does not attack the body," said Inuyasha.  
  
Miroku moved his head to one side and tried to open his eyes.  
  
"Don't move," said Sango. "You fainted. Are you in pain?"  
  
"No," he croaked. "Nightmare." He closed his eyes again.  
  
Inuyasha knelt beside him on one knee. "Do you know who or what is doing this?" he asked, shaking Miroku's shoulder.  
  
"No," Miroku whispered. "Is this real?" He opened glazed eyes again.  
  
"I can't tell anymore," he gasped. "Are you real Sango? You didn't die this time?" He stretched out his fingers to touch her, to assure himself.  
  
"Is that what you dream of?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Every night," he rasped, his throat dry. "Every cursed night."  
  
Kagome had come up behind them. "I'll get him some water," she said.  
  
"We have to find out what is doing this!" said Sango. "A person cannot survive without sleep!"  
  
"Already, he is confused," said Inuyasha. "He looked at you as if you were a ghost."  
  
"A ghost?" Kagome's voice came across the room. She brought over a dipper full of water and handed it to Sango. Carefully, she offered it to Miroku, who drank it slowly.  
  
"Could a ghost cause these dreams he's been having?"  
  
Inuyasha looked up. "I don't know. Maybe Kaede would know."  
  
"It would explain why we detect no demons," said Sango.  
  
"And why I cannot smell or hear anything," said Inuyasha. He ran his thumb along his chin, thinking.  
  
"Could a ghost use a jewel shard?" asked Kagome. They looked at her questioningly.  
  
"Again, I don't know that," said Sango. Inuyasha shook his head as well. "Me neither."  
  
"Then, we must go back to Kaede's village and ask her."  
  
"Who else would know?" asked Sango. "Kaede's village is 4 days from here. I doubt Miroku could make the journey in his present condition."  
  
Inuyasha folded his arms and frowned. "I know one person who may know, but I doubt he'll tell us."  
  
"Who?" asked Kagome.  
  
"My brother," said Inuyasha, reluctantly. "He knows all the lore of the Western lands. Not that he saw fit to pass it down to me, a mere half- breed," he said in an aggrieved tone.  
  
"Sesshomauru may know how we can help Miroku, then?" asked Sango.  
  
Inuyasha nodded. "Yes and his castle is only a day from here, as near as I can tell."  
  
"Then we will go," said Sango, resolutely. "We cannot let Miroku die."  
  
"Who will take care of him while we go?" asked Kagome. "He may not be able to go even one day's journey."  
  
"I'll stay," said Sango. "After all, Kagome, it was your arrow that helped Inuyasha defeat Sesshomauru once, and my hirakotsu is no match for him. Take Keilala, though. She may be of use to you."  
  
Keilala mewed and went to stand by Kagome.  
  
"It's settled then," said Inuyasha. "At dawn, we start the journey Sesshomauru's castle."  
  
"Inuyasha, he'll try to kill you!" said Kagome.  
  
"He can try," Inuyasha said, "He's never beaten me!" He cracked his knuckles and grinned savagely.  
  
"No," said Miroku weakly. "I can't let you do this," he said. "It's just a nightmare."  
  
"Be quiet, Miroku," said Inyasha roughly. "I'm not afraid of my brother! Whatever this thing is, it's killing you a little more each day. If we don't find out what it is, we can't fight it."  
  
"Besides," said Sango thoughtfully. "It might start to attack the rest of us once it is through with you, Miroku. Had that not occurred to you?"  
  
"No," he said in a resigned voice. "I would not wish this on anyone else."  
  
"If I stay here with him, I may be able to discover something that may help," said Sango.  
  
"Kagome, Shippou and I will go," said Inuyasha. Shippou was blessedly asleep, still curled inside Kagome's sleeping bag.  
  
"Perhaps Sesshomauru will help us willingly," said Kagome. "After all, he's no longer after Tetsuaiga, he has Tokijin, his own powerful sword, now."  
  
"Feh, don't count on it," said Inuyasha. "He'd as soon kill me as look at me and he has no love for humans, either. No, I'll have to fight him and force him to tell me what we need to know."  
  
"Try asking him first," pleaded Kagome. " Respectfully, as an older brother. And he takes that human girl with him everywhere now. She looks well cared for. He must not hate humans as badly as you think."  
  
"Means nothing!" exclaimed Inuyasha.  
  
"If you won't ask him respectfully," said Kagome, "I will!"  
  
"You're crazy!" said Inuyasha. "Don't you go near him!"  
  
"Don't order me around!" yelled Kagome. "I can go where I want and talk to whomever I wish!"  
  
"Stupid girl!" said Inuyasha, turning his back and crouching down in a sulk, twitching his ears in irritation.  
  
"Oh, I'm stupid, am I?" she ranted. "I'm not the one who just starts attacking everyone for no good reason!"  
  
"No good reason?" he shouted. "I have plenty of reason. He's been trying to kill me since I was a pup. No good reason?" he repeated sarcastically.  
  
"You don't even try to make peace with him!" said Kagome.  
  
"That's because I don't want to get killed!" Inuyasha said distinctly and slowly to her.  
  
"Don't talk to me as though I'm stupid!" yelled Kagome, walking off stiff backed.  
  
"Fine! I won't talk to you at all, how's that?" he shouted after her.  
  
"Will you two keep it down? I'm trying to sleep!" yelled Shippou, sticking his head out of Kagome's bedding.  
  
Inuyasha strode off, Kagome followed him, still arguing loudly.  
  
Miroku had been watching this with weary eyes. Sango smiled at him. "Same old Inuyasha and Kagome," she said.  
  
He tried to smile back at her, but it flickered and died upon his lips.  
  
"We'll find out what's causing these terrible dreams," said Sango soothingly. "It will all be over soon."  
  
"Yes," said Miroku under his breath. "It will all be over soon, one way or another."  
  
Sango looked anxiously into his eyes for a long moment.  
  
"How ironic," said Miroku, closing his eyes. "I always assumed Naraku's curse would be the end of me, but it appears dreaming of that horrible end will accomplish the same thing."  
  
"NO!" said Sango, "You mustn't think that!"  
  
"I must think of it, Sango," he said wearily. "I can think of little else."  
  
"I won't let this happen to you," she said softly. "I've lost everyone, and I can't lose you too!"  
  
He looked at her, raising his eyebrows slightly. "You must prepare yourself in case Inuyasha and Kagome fail. I can't live this way much longer, without sleeping. I'll be too weak to even stand before long and my mental strength will fail much sooner."  
  
She shook her head. "I won't think that way. I can't give up!" she said in despair. She clutched the front of his robes and buried her head into them.  
  
"Sango," he said quietly. "I'm sorry, I don't wish to cause you more pain. That's the last thing I desire."  
  
She looked up into his face. "It's not your fault, you can't help what is happening to you."  
  
"You're so brave," he said weakly. "You must try to be so a little longer."  
  
"I'll try, houshi-sama," she said in a choked voice.  
  
"That's my Sango," he said quietly. "Thank you for staying with me, I don't wish to be alone when.."  
  
"That's not going to happen!" she said fiercely, interrupting. "We must have hope they will succeed."  
  
"I'm so tired," he said, almost inaudibly. "You must hope for me, my Sango."  
  
He closed his eyes and soon, he was asleep again.  
  
Sango brought over a blanket to cover him and sat next to him under the tree. She wrapped her blanket around her and sat next to him.  
  
"I won't leave you again," she said. 


	3. Sesshomauru

The Dream Eater  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Sesshomauru  
  
"Look, Sesshomauru-sama," said Rin, pointing to a spectacularly jewel toned butterfly. "Pretty!"  
  
"Silence, Rin," said the Lord of the Western Lands. He sniffed the air, his youkai senses detecting what no human nor hanyou could have known.  
  
"It seems my spies were correct, Jaken," he said, "My brother is indeed coming this way. And he brings that human wench of his with him."  
  
"How dare he invade your territory, Sesshomauru-sama!" said the lackey Jaken indignantly.  
  
"I wonder for what possible reason he would dare such an intrusion?" asked the Taichou-inu to himself. "He cannot be such a fool as to think he will not be met with a challenge."  
  
Rin watched with wide eyes, only comprehending part of the tall dog youkai's words.  
  
"Are they coming to play?" asked the tiny human girl, her eyes wide with curiosity.  
  
The youkai lord almost chuckled wickedly at the innocent question.  
  
"Play?" he repeated coolly. "Yes, we will play a game with my brother, Rin. Go with Jaken-sama and entertain yourself elsewhere for now, girl. I will send for you when I need you."  
  
"Yes, Sesshomauru-sama," said the girl obediently. She tugged on Jaken's sleeve and practically dragged him away.  
  
Sesshoumauru smiled faintly as he heard Jaken yelp as Rin clubbed him with his own staff.  
  
"So Inuyasha," he mused to himself, "Finally, you come to pay your older brother a visit. I must prepare a suitable reception."  
  
He glided away into the inner courtyards of the castle, a faint smile still upon his inhumanely handsome features.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I can smell him everywhere now," said Inuyasha, Kagome and Shippou clinging to his back as he leapt from tree to tree and over obstacles at a pace only his superhumanly strong and fast body could withstand.  
  
"How much further?" whined Shippou, voicing Kagome's own question.  
  
"Only a few leagues now," he said. "An hour's journey at most."  
  
"Good," said Kagome. "We need to get back to Miroku and Sango as soon as possible."  
  
The rest was left unsaid. They all knew what eventual fate awaited the monk if they could not find the reason for his soul depleting nightmares.  
  
Suddenly, Inuyasha froze and began to twitch his ears and nose. "Someone or something is coming," he said.  
  
"Sesshomauru?" asked Kagome.  
  
"No, I'd know his scent," said Inuyasha. "This is a demon of some sort, though."  
  
"There!" he exclaimed as the bushes and trees ahead of them finally parted.  
  
A two headed dragon-like creature with four legs and two heads emerged. Kagome recognized a creature similar to one Sesshomauru himself often rode.  
  
Upon its back was a small human girl, in a richly decorated silk kimono befitting a shogun's daughter, her hair dressed with a silver pin.  
  
"Hello!" she said in a high childish voice. "I'm Rin!"  
  
Kagome gave Inuyasha a disbelieving glance out of the corner of her eyes.  
  
"It's a trap," growled Inuyasha.  
  
"Come out here, you cowardly bastard. I've heard of low, but using a child to hide behind?" he scoffed loudly. "Show yourself, you piece of .."  
  
He was cut off in his challenge by Kagome stepping down hard on his bare foot. He yelped.  
  
"Inuyasha!" she exclaimed. "There's a little girl here!"  
  
Kagome stepped forward, "Hi, I'm Kagome." She gave a little bow.  
  
"I'm here to take you to Sesshomauru-sama," Rin said brightly.  
  
"See, I told you it's a trap," Inuyasha looked around him, sniffing again.  
  
"He's not here," said Rin. "He sent me."  
  
"Well, I can't smell him here," admitted Inuyasha. "At least no more than anywhere else."  
  
"We're going to play," said Rin, smiling at them. "Hurry, it'll be dark soon. Rin doesn't like to be outside at night."  
  
"Play?" said Kagome, giving Shippou a puzzled look. He shrugged. "Maybe she just wants to play."  
  
"Don't bet on it," Inuyasha growled. "Don't forget where we are."  
  
They followed along behind the small girl astride the dragon, Inuyasha watching and sniffing warily the whole while.  
  
After a few minutes, the elaborately tiled roof of a large edifice began to protrude through the surrounding trees, nestled at the foot of a large mountain.  
  
"Sesshoumauru's house," said Rin, smiling and pointing ahead.  
  
"Rather more than a house," said Kagome.  
  
"It's big!" said Rin. "Rin gets lost sometimes, but then stupid old Jakin finds her."  
  
Kagome almost giggled, but a fierce look from Inuyasha reminded her what they were approaching.  
  
They came up to the huge double doors of the main building.  
  
"Come in," said Sesshomauru's voice. The voice sounded vaguely amused.  
  
Inuyasha drew his sword on reflex, standing defensively in front of Kagome and Shippou.  
  
"You gotta be kiddin!" yelled Inuyasha loudly.  
  
"Up here, brother," said Sesshomauru. He was standing upon the flat tiled rooftop of the highest part of the castle.  
  
"You've let us come this far," said Inuyasha. "What are you up to, Sesshomauru?"  
  
"Me?" asked Sesshoumauru, still in the same coolly amused tones. "Why, nothing brother. I am..pleased you finally came to show respect to your elder brother."  
  
"FEH!" said Inuyasha in disgust. "You're up to something, or we'd have been attacked already."  
  
"You wound me with your suspicions, dear brother," said Sesshomauru with faint sarcasm.  
  
"What do you want?" asked Inuyasha bluntly.  
  
"Ah, still no manners, young cur," said Sesshomauru. He sighed elaborately with false drama.  
  
"Perhaps you shall have to learn some. I have been remiss as your elder brother in teaching you common courtesy." His richly timbered voice dropped to a growl at the last words.  
  
"Get inside, Rin," he growled, dropping from the rooftop in front of Inuyasha soundlessly.  
  
Rin ran behind Jakin, who stood inside cowering at the sight in front of him.  
  
"That's more like it," said Inuyasha, extending his claws as he reached for Tetsuaiga.  
  
"Wait!" Kagome shouted. She had drawn her bow, fitted with a sacred arrow.  
  
"No fighting," she commanded. "Not until you hear why we came."  
  
This last was directed to Sesshomauru, who gazed at her with no expression.  
  
"Tell your wench the Lord of the Western Lands takes no orders from mere humans," he said coolly.  
  
Inuyasha looked at Kagome incredulously. "Are you out of your mind, Kagome?" he asked loudly. "Stay out of this!"  
  
"I won't!" said Kagome. "This fighting is totally unnecessary. We only want to ask a question."  
  
"You wish to beg I, Sesshomauru, for knowledge you lack?" he asked.  
  
Surprisingly, his tone betrayed a slight interest.  
  
"We came to ask you about the existence of a yurei or youkai who invades dreams," said Kagome. "It seems to feed upon nightmares."  
  
"I gather my brother is too ignorant to know of such things,' said Sesshomauru.  
  
Inuyasha ground his teeth, but said nothing, still holding Tetsuaiga.  
  
"Well, he's only ignorant because you never told him anything!" yelled Kagome, her patience giving out.  
  
"She has more courage than you, brother," said Sesshomauru.  
  
"Enough with the insults!" shouted Inuyasha.  
  
"But, your stupidity begs insults," the youkai said smoothly.  
  
"I'll make you an offer, young cur," he went on after a pause.  
  
"What is it?" asked the hanyou warily.  
  
"If you can hold off an attack from me with the Tokijin for the turn of an hourglass, I will give you the information you need."  
  
"Sounds good," said Inuyasha.  
  
"Inuyasha, he just wants to test the Tokijin against your Tetsuaiga!" Shippou yelled.  
  
"I know," gritted Inuyasha between his teeth.  
  
"Bring the fight to me!" he roared, leaping forward with the huge sword.  
  
Sesshomauru smiled a cold, soulless smile and drew the Tokijin.  
  
Jakin turned over the hourglass.  
  
The air rang with the tremendous clash of metal and the grunts of Inuyasha as he parried the slashes of the Tokijin. Sesshomauru was his better in skill and size, but in his desire to survive, to win, he had never bested his half-youkai younger brother.  
  
"You cannot last, brother," said Sesshomauru through clenched jaws. "Your strength is no match for mine."  
  
"I have to win!" retorted Inuyasha. "My friend's life depends on it!"  
  
He ran with a slashing attack, attempting to down his opponent with pure momentum.  
  
"Then your friend will die," said Sesshomauru, breaking Inuyasha's slashing attack once again.  
  
"No!" screamed Inuyasha, "You're dead when I find the Wind Scar!"  
  
Sesshomauru resumed his stance. Faster than Kagome could see, the two opponents met in a spectacular mid-air clash. Inuyasha was thrown hard to the ground.  
  
"Get up," said the youkai. "We're not finished."  
  
Inuyasha pulled himself up with the Tetsuaiga. His firerat haori was cut in several places, and shallow slashes bled freely.  
  
"Feh, can't you do any better than that?" snarled Inuyasha.  
  
"Yes," said Sesshomauru simply. He lunged forward again, catching Inuyasha off guard once again. A resounding clang of metal almost deafened Kagome, who continuing to watch with horrified eyes.  
  
"Ungh!" Inuyasha groaned as the Tetsuaiga was wrenched from his hands.  
  
He scrambled awkwardly after his weapon, rolling to avoid another attack from Sesshomauru.  
  
"Inuyasha!" screamed Kagome.  
  
He grasped the sword's hilt just in time to parry another attack from the Tokijin.  
  
"Master!" said the croaking voice of Jaken. "I regret to tell you the hourglass has run out."  
  
Sesshomauru raised one thin brow. "It appears you have fulfilled your part of our agreement," he said to the hanyou who knelt panting on the ground. "Barely."  
  
Inuyasha panted as he raised himself from the ground.  
  
"Tell us what we need to know so we can leave," he ground out between gasps.  
  
"Very well," said the Lord of the Western Lands.  
  
"Jaken," he said, "I need The Scroll of Vengeful Spirits. Go fetch it immediately."  
  
"Yes, my Lord Sesshomauru." The toad youkai scurried off inside of the castle.  
  
Inuyasha and Sesshomauru continued to glare at each other intensely.  
  
"You didn't beat me," rasped Inuyasha.  
  
"I would have, given more time," said the youkai calmly.  
  
"Don't bet on it," said Inuyasha, giving his brother a feral smile, showing his fangs.  
  
"Here is the scroll, Lord Sesshomauru," said Jaken, handing his master a very old looking scroll bound in cracked leather.  
  
"I hope you have not damaged this, Jaken," said Sesshomauru silkily, which caused the toad youkai to quiver in fear.  
  
"I was most careful, my Lord Sesshomauru!" he protested loudly.  
  
"Bad Jaken!" said Rin slapping him on the back of the head and giggling.  
  
Kagome gave the child an odd look, but said nothing.  
  
"The Scroll of Vengeful Spirits recounts a yurei that feeds off the nightmares of men," said Sesshomauru, as he examined the scroll.  
  
"A ghost?" asked Kagome.  
  
"A female ghost," said Inuyasha.  
  
"How do we do away with this ghost?" asked Inuyasha.  
  
"The unfortunate spirits of wronged women often take such forms," said the inu-youkai.  
  
"You must appease the wrong that was done to her in life."  
  
"How?" said Kagome.  
  
"Obviously, wench," he said in a faintly irritated tone, "you must first discover what that wrong was."  
  
"So, we have to ask this yurei what wrong was done to her and then make it right?" asked Inuyasha.  
  
Sesshomauru merely looked at him disdainfully.  
  
"I must warn you, the wrong is usually grave to invoke the wrath of the spirit. Often, they are the spirits of females who were murdered."  
  
"How do I invoke the spirit to ask it?" wondered Kagome out loud.  
  
"A powerful miko such as yourself should have no difficulty with that," said Sesshomauru.  
  
"Now, go, I weary of this conversation," he said, turning as he rolled up the ancient scroll. "I have told you everything that you need to know."  
  
"Thank you, Sesshomauru-sama," said Kagome, bowing deeply.  
  
Sesshomauru looked over his shoulder, "The wench at least behaves properly," he said, finally.  
  
"Feh," said Inuyasha, folding his arms stubbornly and sneering.  
  
"The day I bow to you is when the nine hells freeze!" he spat.  
  
"Charming," said Sesshomauru with faint sarcasm. He turned his back as Jaken, groveling, opened the doors for him.  
  
"You must come for another visit sometime, brother," he said, his fangs glinting as the doors closed. 


	4. Yurei

Dream Eater  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Yurei  
  
(AN: Someone mentioned the way I spell Fluffy's name is odd. Well, some manga translations spell it that way. I guess that's the one that stuck in my head. Actually, when you're spelling Japanese names with the English alphabet, it's purely a matter of what you think best conveys the sounds. The manga translation I read was translated by a British speaker, and they spell things a bit differently, that might account for it. I'm sure that's why there are slight differences in translation spellings. I'm going to stick with the one I've already used. Sorry if it looks odd. But, it isn't really an error.)  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"You can't carry us!" said Kagome, looking at Inuyasha's wounds.  
  
"They're nothing," he retorted. "They'll be healed in no time."  
  
"We brought Keilala with us, and she'll carry us back."  
  
The cat demon shifted to her larger form and they all scrambled onto her broad back.  
  
The giant cat demon rumbled. "She says she's sorry she couldn't help during your fight, Inuyasha," said Shippou.  
  
"It was between me and him," said Inuyasha. "He probably wouldn't have given us what we wanted if she'd helped me."  
  
Kagome gripped Inuyasha's robes as they flew across the darkening sky.  
  
"We'll be back to Miroku soon," she said. "But, I still don't quite know how I'm supposed to help him!"  
  
"We'll figure it out together," said Inuyasha.  
  
Kagome nodded and leaned her head against Inuyasha's broad chest, holding on to Shippou tightly.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Miroku!" said Sango. "Wake up!"  
  
She grabbed his robes and tried to pull him up. Up out from his fevered nightmare.  
  
"Kagome and Inuyasha will be back soon!" she said, shaking him.  
  
"Can't stay awake," he muttered. "So tired."  
  
"But, the nightmares are taking your life away, little by little."  
  
He vaguely heard the despair in her voice, but it seemed so distant, so far away now. He only wanted to sleep, to drown in the nightmares that were sucking his soul.  
  
"She calls me," said Miroku finally, in a hushed voice. "I must suffer because she does."  
  
"Who?" said Sango. "Who calls you?" She bent closer to his lips to hear the almost inaudible voice.  
  
"Yume," he said. "The ghost."  
  
"A ghost?" Sango said. "So, it is a ghost that is doing this."  
  
She looked around. "I don't see anything," she said to herself.  
  
"I see her," said Miroku, only half-conscious.  
  
"Reveal yourself, Yume!" said Sango loudly. "Reveal yourself to me and leave him alone!"  
  
A sudden breeze ran through the trees surrounding them, and an eerie haze of green light coalesced to form the vague shape of a young woman.  
  
"Foolish girl, to love him so," a sad reedy voice came from the figure.  
  
"Yume?" said Sango in hushed tones.  
  
"Yes, I am but a dream now," said the figure, who raised empty eyes to look at Sango. Sango shuddered slightly, but kept between the apparition and Miroku's barely conscious form.  
  
"Why do you haunt his nightmares?" whispered Sango. "Why do you torment him?"  
  
"He must suffer as I suffered," said Yume's hollow voice.  
  
"What did you suffer?" asked Sango. Miroku grimaced in the grips of his half sleep, and turned his head away.  
  
"Betrayal," said the ghost's voice. "A love betrayed, by one such as him."  
  
"He did nothing to you!" said Sango, "He is not the one who betrayed you!"  
  
"All men are disloyal," uttered the ghost. "They use us for their pleasure, then discard us. They must suffer."  
  
"No!" said Sango. "Not all men!"  
  
"All the same," said Yume's sad voice. "I have seen your pain, your jealousy when he looks at others. All the same."  
  
"No!" said Sango. "It wasn't like that. I have no claims on him."  
  
"Your love is your claim," said the ghost. "He will suffer as you and I have suffered."  
  
"Get away from him," hissed Sango, now angry, standing to face the apparition. "Your pain is your own, this has nothing to do with us, with the living."  
  
"You are foolish, girl," said Yume. "I will show you it is futile to love."  
  
The apparition began to fade, her voice fading with it. "Futile," echoed the voice of the ghost.  
  
Sango knelt next to Miroku, small shudders of fear convulsing her frame.  
  
"Please hurry," she whispered.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kagome struggled to keep awake against Inuyasha's warm body.  
  
"We're almost there," he said, shaking her a little.  
  
Shippou had given in to sleep and was curled in Kagome's lap, holding tightly to her clothes.  
  
Keilala growled as she recognized the clearing where Sango and Miroku were huddled together under a large tree.  
  
Inuyasha leapt from Keilala's back as they landed.  
  
"You're wounded!" said Sango, looking at Inuyasha in the pre-dawn glimmers of light.  
  
"Scratches," said Inuyasha dismissing her concern.  
  
"We discovered how to free Miroku from the yurei that haunts his dreams," said Kagome, sliding down and running up to Sango. Shippou remained curled upon Keilala's back.  
  
The two young women embraced each other for comfort.  
  
"I saw the yurei," said Sango, "she called herself 'Yume'."  
  
"Sesshomauru told us that we must avenge the wrong this Yume suffered in life, and then she will leave Miroku in peace," said Kagome.  
  
"Then, we must discover the wrong committed," said Sango. "I have heard of such yurei. They cannot rest because of the grievous wrongs done to them in life."  
  
"She said she was betrayed by one she loved," said Sango.  
  
"She spoke to you?" asked Kagome.  
  
"Yes," replied Sango. "She said Miroku must suffer because she had suffered betrayal at the hands of her lover."  
  
Sango did not recount the other words of the yurei, that it was her secret love of the young monk that had brought this upon Miroku.  
  
"Could the betrayal have been murder?" asked Inuyasha, sitting cross-legged on the ground and sighing.  
  
"I was thinking," said Kagome, "if she is nearby, could this have been her village?" She indicated the abandoned village around them where they had been making camp for the last few weeks.  
  
"There is a small graveyard nearby," said Sango. "If we find Yume's grave, perhaps we can persuade her to abandon Miroku's dreams."  
  
"Sesshomauru told us that I would have the power to invoke her presence," said Kagome. "The miko's powers I have should draw her to me."  
  
"We shouldn't waste anymore time," said Inuyasha, standing. "How many more nights of this dream eater can Miroku endure?"  
  
They all looked gravely at each other as they considered his question. 


	5. Yume

Dream Eater  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Yume  
  
(AN: I'm sorry its taken me so long to update this story! Thanks for your patience, readers. I've been working on several projects for my Gundam Wing page at Shades and Echoes. Also, been busy with house remodeling. I've been really wanting to get back to Miroku, honest!) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Inuyasha began to sniff the air in a frustrated manner. One could not smell a ghost. His amazing youkai sense would be of little or no use to them. Nor would his strength. This quandary before them required other talents.  
  
"It's going to be up to you, Kagome," he said. "What do you sense?"  
  
"I've never done anything like this before," Kagome said despairingly. "I can only try."  
  
Sango was kneeling near Miroku again. "Perhaps we can lure this yurei, this ghost, to us," Sango said, staring at Miroku's drawn, pale face.  
  
"How?" said Kagome.  
  
"I-I didn't tell you everything that Yume said to me," whispered Sango.  
  
"Why not?" demanded Inuyasha, striding over to Sango and glaring down at her.  
  
"It's personal!" she cried, "I was embarrassed!"  
  
"We need to know if it will help Miroku," said Kagome softly, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.  
  
She gave Inuyasha a 'back off' look. "You can tell me, Sango."  
  
Sango nodded her head slowly. "I'll tell you Kagome, you'll understand."  
  
"Inuyasha, take Shippou over there and leave us alone," said Kagome in a no- nonsense tone, pointing into the forest.  
  
Inuyasha glared at her, but slung the tired kitsune child over his shoulder and stomped off into the forest.  
  
"And I know how well you can hear," yelled Kagome, "So be a gentleman and keep going!"  
  
"FEH!" said the hanyou, climbing a far off tree while Shippou clung to him sleepily.  
  
"He's such a pain sometimes," said Kagome, off-handedly.  
  
Sango nervously cleared her throat.  
  
"Sorry, Sango," said Kagome, seeing the obvious distress on her friend's face.  
  
"Miroku, he's being tormented because of me," said Sango sadly. "It's all my fault."  
  
"What?" asked Kagome, not sure she'd heard correctly.  
  
"The ghost, she told me I'm being betrayed by love the same way she was."  
  
"I don't understand," said Kagome in a puzzled voice.  
  
"She thinks I'm in love with Miroku and he's betrayed me. She's making him suffer to pay for that."  
  
"Oh," said Kagome. Nothing intelligent to say came to mind. Sango was looking at the ground, not wanting to meet Kagome's eyes.  
  
"It's not true, is it?" asked Kagome, finally.  
  
"I-I don't know," whispered Sango. "Sometimes, I get so angry when he flirts with other women. I know it's nothing, that I shouldn't even care..."  
  
"But, why does this Yume, the ghost, think you're in love with Miroku?" asked Kagome.  
  
"Because I'm jealous."  
  
Sango hid her face in her hands. "It's my unwanted jealousy that's killing him!" she cried.  
  
Kagome looked at her friend. "No, it's this creature that's killing him," she said to Sango. "She's wrong, it's her own pain she can't let go of, it has nothing to do with you."  
  
"But, my hate, my jealousy drew her." Sango still hid her face in shame.  
  
"Perhaps," conceded Kagome. "But, maybe if you admit your feelings, the jealousy will take care of itself. Miroku has no idea you feel this strongly for him, does he?"  
  
"No, I'd never let that happen," said Sango, stubbornly. "I won't be one of those silly village girls hanging all over him!"  
  
"Why not?" asked Kagome. "Maybe those girls are there because they see the same thing you see."  
  
"What's that?" asked Sango unwillingly.  
  
"Someone who underneath his flirting, smiles and songs is very lonely and needs someone, the way we all need someone."  
  
Sango raised her eyes.  
  
"If it's not going to be you, Sango, someone he obviously cares for, it will be someone he cares nothing about. It's very hard to always be alone."  
  
Sango frowned at her. "I never thought of that."  
  
"Maybe you should."  
  
Sango looked down at the monks drawn features again. "I'm sorry, Miroku," she whispered.  
  
An unannounced breeze ruffled the clearing, shaking the leaves from the tress, like the heralding of a sudden storm. Kagome looked up.  
  
"I sense something," she said quietly, looking in the direction of the old village graveyard.  
  
"Yume!" she called out, getting up from her knees beside Sango and Miroku.  
  
She saw a flash of red out of the corner of her eye.  
  
"Inuyasha!" she cried. The half demon was beside her before she knew it.  
  
"I heard something," said the hanyou roughly, looking around suspiciously.  
  
"This is something you may not be able to protect me from," said Kagome.  
  
"I can try," said Inuyasha fiercely.  
  
"Show yourself, yurei!" he challenged, his voice raising above the increasing wind.  
  
"I want only the monk," said a hollow female voice that somehow wrapped around the sounds of the wind.  
  
"You can't have him!" said Inuyasha, drawing the Tetsusaiga  
  
"That won't work!" cried Kagome, grabbing his arm.  
  
"I won't let this creature kill Miroku!" said Inuyasha, shrugging off her hand.  
  
"Wait!" exclaimed Sango. "Let me try!"  
  
Sango rose and walked to the middle of the clearing.  
  
"YUME!" she cried loudly. "Please, take me instead," she pleaded, dropping to her knees.  
  
Kagome gasped. "No, not that!" she said. "Sango, no!"  
  
"It's the only way," said Sango, closing her eyes tightly and bowing her head in surrender.  
  
"Look!" said Inuyasha. He tightened his grip on his weapon.  
  
A haze of light came toward Sango. It slowly coalesced into the shadowy shape of a beautiful woman.  
  
"So, foolish girl, you wish me to take you instead of your lover?" said the ghost's hollow voice.  
  
"Sango!" said Miroku weakly. His eyes fluttered as he tried to open them.  
  
"He's not my lover!" said Sango. "He hasn't betrayed me, Yume. Take me and leave him be!"  
  
"But, he makes you sad, he must suffer," insisted the droning voice of the yurei.  
  
"I've caused my own misery by not being honest about my feelings," said Sango.  
  
"He must suffer," said the ghost, uncomprehending of Sango's pleas.  
  
"Sango, she's not listening!" said Kagome. "She's insane!"  
  
"He betrayed me," said the yurei's insistent voice. "They are all betrayers."  
  
The apparition turned away from Sango, and began to drift slowly towards Miroku's prone form, lying under the tree.  
  
"NO!" said Sango. "Kagome, help him!"  
  
Kagome hesitated, then drew a sacred arrow from her quiver.  
  
"Get away from him!" she yelled at the yurei.  
  
"He must suffer," intoned the woman's hollow voice.  
  
Kagome let the arrow fly. As it struck the apparition, a flash of green sickly light exploded.  
  
"Got her!" yelled Inuyasha, triumphantly.  
  
"Oh no!" said Kagome, a second later, "What's that?"  
  
A huge snake like creature with the head of a woman rose up against the forest.  
  
It cackled obscenely. "The pathetic creature you knew as Yume has been sent to her final rest by your arrow, Miko. But, I, the Oni am still here!"  
  
"A snake demon!" hissed Inuyasha through clenched teeth.  
  
"I have used her to feast on many!" boasted the hideous creature.  
  
"For the last time!" snarled Inuyasha. He drew back his weapon and lunged full strength at the Oni.  
  
Miroku's eyes began to open. "Sango!" he called weakly. Kagome and Sango ran to him.  
  
"The dreams are gone?" asked Sango, looking searchingly into his eyes.  
  
"What the hell is that!" asked Miroku groggily, trying to rise from the ground.  
  
"An Oni," said Kagome. "It was using the yurei to incapacitate young men to feast upon. The ghost fed upon their dreams, the Oni on their flesh."  
  
Kagome shuddered.  
  
"You're safe now," said Sango, to Miroku.  
  
"Only if Inuyasha can destroy that snake demon!" said the monk, struggling still to rise.  
  
"You're still too weak!" insisted Sango. "Inuyasha can deal with this. I'll help him, if need be."  
  
The cries of the hanyou's fierce battle with the Oni still reached their ears, although partially obscured from view by the thick forest.  
  
A final bloodcurdling scream from the Oni's throat and its death rattle told them all they needed to know.  
  
"That's the last feast for that thing," said Inuyasha, wiping the venomous looking blood off of Tetsusiaga as he came over to them, grinning ferally.  
  
Shippou bounded down from his hiding place in the trees, with Keilala.  
  
"I was going to help you, Inuyasha!" said the kitsune.  
  
Kagome laughed, partly with relief and at Shippou's silly boasting.  
  
"You're not hurt?" she asked Inuyasha.  
  
"Nah!" he said, brushing the question aside. "How's the houshi?" he inquired, looking at Miroku.  
  
"Much better now," he said in a still-weary voice. He smiled. "I had the strangest dream."  
  
"I'm sure!" said Kagome.  
  
"This one wasn't a nightmare," said the monk. He winked slyly at Sango and put his hands behind his head in reminiscent pose.  
  
"I seem to recall it involved you," he said to Sango.  
  
"REALLY!" said Sango, indignantly.  
  
"Yes, you were offering yourself to some hideous creature to save me," he said, suddenly serious. "If it were only true, I suppose I would be forever in your debt."  
  
"You have saved all our lives many times," said Sango, stiffly. "I'm sure I would do the same for you."  
  
"Ah, yes, of course." Miroku sighed. "Well, it was only a dream," he said sadly.  
  
Kagome giggled. "Yes, but aren't dreams often more true than reality?" She winked at Sango, who blushed furiously and averted her eyes.  
  
Inuyasha snorted. "Women!" he said. "What kind of nonsense is that, Kagome? Dreams are just dreams."  
  
"Do you ever dream about me?" she asked the hanyou coyly.  
  
He blushed. "I don't remember," he mumbled. "Come on, let's find somewhere else to camp, this place gives me the creeps."  
  
He walked over to the monk and pulled him to his feet. "If you can't walk, I'll carry you," he said roughly.  
  
"I think I'll be able to go a short ways," said Miroku, leaning on his staff.  
  
"I'll help you," said Sango, suddenly. "You can lean on me."  
  
"Really?" asked Miroku, in faint surprise. "You trust me all of a sudden?"  
  
"Of course," said Sango. "You're too weak to do anything anyway."  
  
"Oh, yes, right," he agreed. Sango went over and he slid his arm around her shoulders.  
  
"Let me know if you need to rest," said Sango solicitously.  
  
"Oh, I will," said Miroku earnestly. "Better hold on to me tightly, wouldn't want to fall and hurt myself, or anything." He winked at Inuyasha, who rolled his eyes.  
  
"I can't believe she's letting him drape himself all over her like that," he said disgustedly to Kagome.  
  
"Maybe she doesn't mind," said Kagome. "Besides, I think they're sort of cute together." She looked behind her to watch Miroku say something in Sangos' ear, and she smiled and nodded her head.  
  
"You would!" said Inuyasha. "I suppose you want me to act silly like that."  
  
"Act any way you like," said Kagome archly. "Like I care!"  
  
"Oh, you care!" said Inuyasha. "Not that you can tell me what to do!"  
  
"You're impossible!" cried Kagome. "I wish that Oni had eaten you!"  
  
"Not likely!" yelled Inuyasha. "Why don't you just admit it, you'd miss me if I were gone. And, who'd protect you, silly wench?"  
  
"I can protect myself just fine!" insisted Kagome.  
  
"Right!" scoffed Inuyasha.  
  
"Would you two shut up!" complained Shippou, "I'm trying to take a nap!" He was riding on Keilala's back.  
  
"Yeah be quiet, some people are trying to have a conversation!" said Miroku, grinning and leaning on Sango's arm. She smiled back at him.  
  
"Feh," said Inuyasha.  
  
The End 


End file.
